Giuliani warns Obama on NYC trial

Rudy Giuliani says trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court in lower Manhattan will make New York City vulnerable to terrorism again and sends the message that the United States is on defense in the war on terror.

"One of the best things the Bush Administration did was put us on offense. Putting us back on defense puts us in a very vulnerable position, not just in New York, but nationally," Giuliani said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. "New York City is a prime target of terrorists, unfortunately, we know that for reasons we can't control, otherwise we'd have to destroy ourselves as a financial capital, a cultural capital. Why add to that risk for a reason that is not necessary is my major concern."

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The former New York mayor’s opposition appears to be a change from the position he took in 1994, after the perpetrators of the first World Trade Center attacks were convicted in a New York civilian court. Giuliani also made supportive statements in 2006 about the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.

On March 5, 1994, Giuliani told the New York Times that the court's verdict "demonstrates that New Yorkers won't meet violence with violence, but with a far greater weapon — the law."

"How silly it is to argue this is the same as 1993 and Moussaoiu when military tribunals didn't exist yet or weren't yet deemed constitutional," Giuliani said. "If that alternative wasn't available now, I'd be the first to say, let's have this trial in New York."

Giuliani also said Attorney General Eric Holder was "fooling himself" if he didn't think holding the trial in New York City wouldn't give terrorists a greater media platform for getting there messages across.

"New York City is the place where everything gets exaggerated ten fold," Giuliani said of the media. "Why you would give these terrorists the benefits of that? I don't understand for the life of me why you would do that."

Giuliani also singled out the administration for its refusal to use the term "War on Terror.” He believes using this term was appropriate because 9/11 was "a foreign invasion of our city, plotted overseas, carried out by foreigners, and tantamount to a foreign attack on the United States."

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